The Director-General of the Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Dr Jobson Ewalefoh, has confused the necessity to place residents’ welfare on the centre of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) tasks, saying the success of infrastructure agreements needs to be measured by their influence on individuals’s lives.
Ewalefoh mentioned this in a put up on his X deal with, the place he shared classes from monitoring greater than 100 concession agreements and over twenty years of involvement within the PPP sector.
He mentioned the true measure of a PPP was not the power of the settlement reached throughout negotiations however the high quality of life it created for the individuals it was designed to serve.
“After more than two decades in the Public-Private Partnership space and being involved in over 100 concession agreements, one lesson has become increasingly clear to me: The true measure of a PPP is not the strength of the agreement on the negotiation table. It is the quality of life it creates for the people it was designed to serve,” he mentioned.
The ICRC boss maintained that the pursuits of residents should stay central to the planning and implementation of sustainable infrastructure tasks, noting that governments and buyers may change over time, however the individuals who rely upon the infrastructure would stay.
“I truly believe that having a heart for the people must be at the centre of every sustainable PPP. In every PPP, policies are developed by administrations, governments eventually change, investors gain their profits and move on, officials who sat across do not always remain, but the PEOPLE for whom the infrastructure is built for remain!” he said.
He recognized passengers utilizing airports, households counting on improved healthcare, companies transporting items by way of higher transport infrastructure and communities accessing electrical energy, water, jobs and financial alternatives because the individuals whose wants ought to information PPP tasks.
According to him, a mission could possibly be financially viable and nonetheless fail the general public if it did not ship significant worth.
“A project can be financially viable and still fail the public if it does not create meaningful value. Equally, a well-structured PPP becomes truly sustainable when commercial interests, government objectives and the needs of citizens are brought into alignment,” he mentioned.
Reflecting on his two years as ICRC Director-General, Ewalefoh mentioned Nigeria’s PPP framework was evolving by way of improved mission preparation, stronger institutional capability and elevated confidence for personal funding.
“This has formed my considering all through my profession and, significantly, my work as DG over the previous two years.
“Nigeria’s PPP journey is evolving. We are building stronger frameworks, improving project preparation, strengthening institutional capacity and creating greater confidence for private investment,” he mentioned.
He, nevertheless, cautioned towards dropping sight of the basic objective of infrastructure improvement, which he mentioned was to enhance the lives of residents.
“But beyond all of these, we must never lose sight of the reason infrastructure exists in the first place: PEOPLE!” he added.
The ICRC director-general additional mentioned the lasting evaluation of infrastructure tasks would rely upon whether or not they delivered the advantages promised to the general public, quite than the agreements signed or the officers who negotiated them.
“Years from now, when the agreements have become archived documents and the names of those who negotiated them are no longer remembered, the people will remember whether the infrastructure worked, whether it improved their lives and whether it delivered the value promised to them,” he mentioned.
He mentioned that sustainable PPP preparations should steadiness funding pursuits with long-term advantages to residents.
“This is ultimately the real test of a PPP. We must build for investment, structure for sustainability, but always deliver for the people,” Ewalefoh mentioned.
